It went a bit too fast.
Here we are. School's done. Summer's in full swing. We're all a little older, a little wiser.
Speaking of older...
Before:
After:
Both Claire & Madeline finished their school years.
Madeline will move on to the 4 year old class at Malmo Pre-kindergarten, after a wonderful experience in the 3 year old class.
One of Madeline's year-end activities in preschool was a trip to the zoo.
Grandma Patterson accompanied her and they had a wonderful time together.
Claire is going to be in grade 1 in September at Grace Martin.
She'll move up with lots of her friends and we're looking forward to a great year.
We've been very lucky to have wonderful teachers for our kids.
Here is Claire and her entourage. :)
Claire and some of her friends.
Many of them will run to greet her as they can see us coming from our house.
We celebrated Steph's birthday at her place with a great BBQ.
Madeline's always right in there, being helpful.
Val discovered Claire's new favourite way to snuggle.
We were walking home from Auntie Steph's house after the birthday party and crossing a very bumpy street. Madeline was concerned about how rough the road was for Claire's wheelchair. She looked at me and said, "I wish Claire could walk." It's the first time she's ever said something like that. It wasn't said in a mean or a whiny way, but sincerely. I wish that too, Madeline.
Claire is our human pretzel :)
Such a sleepy cutie pie :)
Claire has finished Little Bits for the summer. As she gets bigger, taller and more wiggly, it's harder for the side-walkers to help her sit up straight. We're hoping that she'll be able to continue in the Fall, with reassessment with a physiotherapist to make sure that we're supporting her correctly.
Madeline and the other siblings that come to watch riding are always good sports, finding ways to entertain themselves.
Here the kids were hopping back and forth over the line while running full tilt!
Despite some setbacks at a few lessons, the last two rides of the season were very positive.
Ryan's been having fun with his new ipod and a program called Instagram.
Here are a few pictures he's taken with it. It's a pretty fun program!
Auntie Natalie has been helping out with babysitting a lot lately.
She always comes prepared with exciting crafts and fun toys!
DJ Samurai (a.k.a. Ryan) rocked out the tunes at the year-end Campbelltown Dance.
Guess the theme!
We had a fun time dancing and listening to the music. Claire had some glow in the dark bracelets and a wand that she held onto for most of the night.
Madeline was up on the stage with Ryan nearly the entire dance.
She took her job of twirling the disco ball very seriously.
When she did get down on the floor to dance, she would be moving so fast I couldn't catch her. Here's the best dance picture I could grab.
Madeline said to me, "Mommy, I'm going to marry a handsome boy who doesn't hate the world." Sounds like a plan to me.
